


The Poisonous Abyss

by Athenais_Penelope_Clemence, Countess_of_Sherwood



Series: Robin Hood scenes [5]
Category: Robin Hood (BBC 2006), Robin Hood (Traditional), Robin Hood - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Canon Related, Drama, F/M, Gen, Hatred, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Mental Anguish, Misery, Threats of Violence, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 10:04:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8140060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athenais_Penelope_Clemence/pseuds/Athenais_Penelope_Clemence, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Countess_of_Sherwood/pseuds/Countess_of_Sherwood
Summary: Finally, the illustrious Robin Hood has been captured thanks to the crafty scheme of Lady Davina, Vaisey’s sister. An angry Guy faces a helpless and bound Robin dangling over the poisonous abyss. What goes through the heads of two sworn enemies in these moments? Canonical scenes from 2x01 that are written from Guy and Robin’s POVs.Tagged with Robin/Marian because Marian is in a relationship with Robin, although Guy doesn’t know about it.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Athenais_Penelope_Clemence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athenais_Penelope_Clemence/gifts), [Coleen561](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coleen561/gifts), [QueenofVikings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenofVikings/gifts), [landofspices](https://archiveofourown.org/users/landofspices/gifts), [rosalind25](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosalind25/gifts), [ArtCounterclockwise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtCounterclockwise/gifts), [MademoiselleNathalie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MademoiselleNathalie/gifts), [Sir_Robin_of_Locksley](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Robin_of_Locksley/gifts), [LadyMarianne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyMarianne/gifts), [jadey36](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadey36/gifts), [XCrazyforOncex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/XCrazyforOncex/gifts), [leadencloudsonthehorizon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/leadencloudsonthehorizon/gifts), [railise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/railise/gifts).



> Co-Authors are: **Penelope Clemence** and **Countess of Sherwood**.
> 
> This story is a gift for Penelope Clemence, Coleen561, Queen of Vikings, Landofspices, Rosalind25, ArtCounterclockwise, MademoiselleNathalie, Sir Robin of Locksley, LadyMarianne, jadey36, Lady Marian of Locksley, XCrazyforOncex, Young Lavender Lady, leadencloudsonthehorizon, and railise.
> 
> Disclaimer: We don’t own BBC’s Robin Hood or any of the show's characters. We have no rights to the canonical plots and storylines.
> 
> Many thanks to **Coleen561** who provided great assistance in preparing the story for posting. Thanks to **Rosalind25** and **ArtCounterclockwise** for some help!
> 
> It is also posted at FF by **Penelope Clemence**.

**The Poisonous Abyss**

 

_Nottingham Castle_

“Robin Hood is going to have the most wonderful death at the hands of my babies,” the woman proclaimed in a high, acerbic voice. “Let’s go.” She swiveled and began to stalk away.

As Guy and Davina walked along the hallway, Guy watched the woman from the corner of his eye. His muscles were so taut with tension that his body hurt; he could barely draw a breath. An oppressive darkness blanketed him in her presence. The sheriff and his sister were rapacious, heartless, crafty, and power-mad; they repelled most human beings who crossed their path, including Guy.

Despite the discomfort he experienced in her presence, Guy was determined to get acquainted with Lady Davina Vaisey, the younger sister of his master, whom he had just met the previous day. Undoubtedly, Davina was a creature of darkness who used her ability to blend in with shadows to catch her victims unawares, like she had fooled Robin Hood today in the market square.

As they strolled down the corridor, Guy’s mind drifted back to the leader of the outlaws. His lips curled into a scathing smirk, and his steel blue eyes glittered with malicious joy; his expression suggested that the master-at-arms was in a state of lively satisfaction. They had been trying to trap Robin many times, but the outlaw always slipped through their fingers. But now success was so close!

Confidence filled Guy like a rising tide, lifting and carrying him to that shore where he had been longing to cast anchor ever since Robin’s return from the Crusades.  It was a sensation that came from the news of Robin’s capture; he had finally found a safe harbor in the turbulent sea of his life.

 _The illustrious Robin Hood was finally within Guy’s grasp!_ Guy couldn’t kill him because Vaisey and his sister had already arranged a most delicious death, but he planned to relish Robin’s torment.

Guy picked up his pace, driven by the desire to face his sworn enemy. That brutal coolness, almost indifference, to the sufferings of other people which had made him Vaisey’s right-hand man and was highly valued by the sheriff, was gradually re-asserting itself. As he approached the room where Robin was kept, wings of fervent agitation and impatience, propelled by his inner demons and their cravings for revenge against Robin, began to flutter in his chest. Darkness in his heart thickened.

Guy hated Robin of Lockley wholeheartedly. Now _they – not only Guy –_ would finally deal with Robin. The mischievous devil had been grating on Guy’s nerves since his return from the Crusade. Many times during his seemingly endless pursuit of the far-famed outlaw, Guy had regretted Robin’s recovery from his nearly fatal wound in Acre. But maybe it was for the best that Hood had survived.

Loss of his childhood home and his family’s lands and abject poverty in France – Guy would never forget these things. He had become a lanky, anxious youth with a long, pale face due to weight loss from starvation. The merciless hand of fate had guided him to this path of darkness. In adulthood, Guy’s interactions with Robin resulted in his utter failure to take the Lionheart’s life in Acre and in Robin’s many repeated victories over him. Thoughts of all the heavy doses of humiliation at the hands of the sheriff since Robin’s escape into the woods aroused wild exasperation in him.

Robin Hood was responsible for a great many of Guy’s troubles and afflictions. _All the horrid humiliations inflicted on me by others due to Hood’s role in my life are enough to kill him and watch him die,_ Guy thought _._ He would repay his worst enemy for all the offenses caused by Vaisey in the light of his many failures to capture the outlaw and for all the insults hurled at him by Robin himself.

Guy had a clear recollection of the shameful hours he had spent in captivity in Sherwood, when an enraged Robin had threatened him with a heated blade. That was a gargantuan mortification that would be never obliterated from his mind! All of a sudden, the burden of these humiliations was growing so heavy for Guy that he was becoming aware of his physical insufficiency to contain his bubbling ire. He was an angry creature, stripped and shorn of his childish innocence on the night of the fire and now refusing to bow his head even before the anger of the Lord.

Two words echoed in his head – Robin and Marian. As he remembered Marian’s escape from the Locksley Chapel, he instantly recalled the reports he had received from his men. Marian had ditched him at the altar, causing him the ignominy of a lifetime, and he had avenged it with the destruction of Knighton Hall. She had run away with Hood, of all men, and it must have been Robin who had persuaded her to leave him. Marian was guilty of robbing Guy of his chance for a better future, but somehow her guilt was mitigated by the knowledge that Hood had influenced her considerably.

 _Hood, you are the reason for all my troubles and my misery! Marian abandoned me at the altar because I cannot be like you; because I’m not you._ These were Guy’s bitter thoughts at this moment.

As Guy and Davina stopped near the war room, they didn’t enter straight away. Guy concentrated all his attention on the movements and voices inside the room. They heard Vaisey’s truculent laugh.

Davina smiled malevolently. “My brother is in an exhilarated mood today.”

“Yes, it is a good day,” answered Guy neutrally.

“Shall we enter, Gisborne?” Davina questioned as she stepped closer to the door.

An unpleasant smile of anticipation spread across Guy’s visage. “Yes,” he agreed.

________________________________________

Guy opened the door, allowing Davina to enter; then he followed her. He examined the chamber and noticed eight men in black cloaks standing around the edge of the room, each of them between massive pillars. A banner, wrapped around a cylinder of sorts, hung in the center from the ceiling.

Guy and Davina swiftly approached the sheriff who stood by the windlass. They stood on either side of the windlass near Vaisey, waiting for the sheriff to speak.

Vaisey stretched out his arms theatrically. “My friends,” he addressed all the people in attendance. The man in black cloaks seated themselves in nearby chairs. He continued in a loud and exulted voice, “Our time has come.” He paused. Crossing his fists over his chest, he moved to the center of the room. He went on. “King Richard is marching on Jerusalem. By the time the year is out, he will be home. So, Operation Shah Mat must move to the next phase.” He trailed off for a split second.

His arms outstretched again, his palms up, the sheriff stated, “Mobilize your men. Bring me your bids for funding. We must be ready. Wherever King Richard lands on English soil, we must be there to greet him...” He again crossed his arms on his chest, his eyes shut for a moment. “...to embrace him.” Vaisey opened his eyes and gazed down, holding his hands up in front of him. He added caustically, with feigned remorse, “Oh, oh, the king is dead.” He chuckled noxiously, and the others snickered. He lifted his eyes, as if he were looking at the heavens, and held his hands up too. “Long live the king!”

Having finished his pompous speech, Vaisey veered his gaze to a man at his left. “So, meanwhile, today’s entertainment,” promulgated the sheriff in a voice woven of demure sarcasm and vicious gratification. Circling a large trap door in the floor, he continued, “My friends, allow me to introduce... from high lord to low criminal... from noble to nothing... from rank to skunk... from hero to zero...”

The sheriff clicked his fingers, and the banner dropped from the ceiling to reveal Robin hanging from his bound hands. Guy’s heart filled with sadistic pleasure at the sight of a helpless Robin.

“Robin Hood,” Vaisey affirmed, while the others applauded. The sheriff supplemented sardonically, “Welcome to my new chamber, Hood. We are the Black Knights.” He kissed his ring and held it out.

Robin was feeling pain in every part of his body, especially his shoulders. Bracing himself for what might come next, he assumed an air of roguish nonchalance. He then launched a verbal sparring match in a cheerful voice dripping with sarcasm. “Oh, why so coy, Vaisey? Why not call yourselves the traitors? And Operation Shah Mat? Why not call it _“Checkmate,”_ or better still, _“Kill the King”?_ ”

At Robin’s taunting words, Guy clenched his fists in tight balls as a wave of fury coursed through him. Robin’s intransigence and boldness even in the direst situations always antagonized him.

Vaisey responded calmly, “Oh, very good. He knows his Persian. Very clever.”

Robin spoke again, his voice steady. “The taxes, the money you’ve raised–”

The sheriff interrupted the hero of the woods. “What did you think? Did you think I was going to buy myself a new rug? You don’t know me at all, Hood. Myself and my friends, we have no interest in money. It’s for an army of mercenaries. We want power. Between us, we will run the new England.” He clenched his fists, and raised his voice. “We are the new England!”

“Well, then God help us,” replied a disconcerted Robin in a less cheerful manner.

Vaisey was inwardly laughing at Robin, even though outwardly he looked very serious. “Yes, well, God is the only one who can help you now. Shame...” His lips curved in a fiendish smile. “… because I really rather enjoyed our little skirmishes.” He paused, looking at his sister. “Davina!”

Davina advanced forward and stopped beside her brother. With a nefarious smile on her face, she snapped her fingers, and four soldiers lifted away the floor panel under Robin to reveal a mass of venomous snakes rattling and hissing, completely engulfing the bottom of the pit. These snakes were ‘ _the babies’_ whom she had taken to Nottingham from her home; they were her most exotic weapon.

“My babies,” declared Davina proudly.

Robin looked down, his eyes taking in the horrifying sight of the numerous snakes in the pit. Although he had cheated death many times, now he feared that the winds of fate were blowing against him instead of with him. Mortal dread seized him, and panic clawed its way up his throat as he imagined how Marian and his friends would receive the news of his death. He prayed to God for a miracle before it was too late.

Robin quickly lowered his head, keeping it just high enough to enable him to peer above the ground at the sheriff and his awful sister. Despite the pain in his limbs and the seeming hopelessness of his current situation, the hero was endeavoring, with every fibre of his being, to appear cheerful and easy-going, as if he weren’t teetering on the brink of death through snakebites.

The sheriff looked up sideways at Robin. Robin’s paleness apprised him of the hero’s inner turmoil, and his evil heart pounded harder as he cast a brief glance at the snakes that were writhing in the pit.

Vaisey spoke in a mordant undertone. “Death by fanging?” He and Davina laughed acridly.

Guy remained silent. In spite of all his hatred for Robin and his ardent desire to annihilate Robin from earth, the last shred of his conscience prevented him from joining the sheriff and Davina in their celebratory laugh. He didn’t approve of the depraved method of execution chosen by the sheriff’s sister for the legendary outlaw. He always imagined that Robin would be killed in one of their battles or would be finally arrested and hanged, but never, not even in his wildest dreams, had he envisaged his enemy’s death in this way. This time, his childhood nemesis seemed to be doomed.

Robin Hood defied the whole political system, and his fight for justice was naïve and futile. He and his band were like a lonely ship battling against the tempestuous waves of an ocean, but he would drown soon. Vaisey and Davina, not Guy, would submerge the hero from Sherwood into darkness.

________________________________________

An elated Vaisey laced his fingers and theatrically cracked his knuckles. As he heard his prisoner breathe heavily, he spoke in a villainous voice. “Inch by inch, Hood, you’ll be lowered to your death.” He paused and pulled a small paddle out of the winch. The paddle rolled a bit and in the next moment stopped, dropping Robin a few inches closer to the snakes; he was taking gasping breaths, as if he had been submerged too long under water. The sheriff stepped closer to his captive and continued, “My friend, Sir Guy, would like to ask you a question before we say goodbye.”

Guy wanted to interrogate Robin; yet, he didn’t dare interrupt Vaisey’s performance.

Robin wasn’t listening to the sheriff closely. For some strange reason, his mind was focused on Guy of Gisborne who was in attendance and stood a small distance away, glaring at him ferociously.

 _You dropped that torch and set Gisborne Manor on fire! You killed my father, you fiend!_ Robin’s heart and soul craved to shout these denunciations. If he were not immobilized, Robin would have rushed to the dark knight, ramming his fists at his enemy with rage, despair, hatred, and disgust.

These thoughts brought terrible, blind night into Robin’s mind and soul. Robin could connect a great many of his troubles and his important choices with the fire at Gisborne Manor. Devastating memories began to haunt him like an echo of all the pain that he was keeping within himself. Robin was filled with images long buried in his past which fuelled his burning hatred for Guy.

Robin’s mind was a blur of one image melting into the next. The first image was the conflagration that consumed his father, Sir Malcolm, and Guy’s parents. His father’s death had resulted in Robin assuming the duties and obligations of an earl when he was still just a boy. Robin’s childhood had been destroyed just as surely and completely as the crumbling ruins of Gisborne Manor. The imperative need to grow up had forced him to shoulder many responsibilities for his people.

If his father hadn’t died in that accursed fire, he wouldn’t have become an earl at the age of ten. The derisive words of his peers echoed through his head: _“Robin of Locksley is a boy earl! He is an effeminate and spoiled boy!”_ Their lack of respect towards a “lucky” boy who had inherited ample wealth and the lofty title, Earl of Huntingdon, from his dead father, irritated Robin, goading him into action. He wanted to prove that he deserved his titles and privileges. He needed Marian, the whole world, and all his peers to know that he was much more than a pampered and spoiled boy.

Then arrived an execrable mental vision of the day when Robin had made up his mind to go to war. Visions morphed into blood-stained battlefields near the walls of Acre, as the city surrendered to the Lionheart. The naivety and tenderness of his young heart was crushed by the tremendous amount of Saracen blood on his hands, and an inner darkness blossomed in his heart. With a sickening clarity, Robin realized once more that all these things would haunt him until his dying day.

Lost in thoughts, Robin was only vaguely aware that Vaisey had finished his speech. The sound of Guy’s approaching footsteps pulled Robin out of his musings.

Steeling himself against the pain and banishing his morbid thoughts, Robin locked his intense blue eyes with Guy’s pitiless gaze. A throbbing wave of visceral hatred for Guy washed over him and seemed to force its way into each and every part of his body. Right now, Robin hated Guy fiercely. Robin was the quintessence of nobility and compassion, but in moments like this, his passionate, noble convictions receded before the strength of his hatred, removing the restraints of honor and humanity which were integral parts of his personality.

Robin hastily glanced away. It wasn’t really convenient for him to look at Gisborne while he was hanging over the poisonous abyss arranged for him by the insanely cruel Davina.

Guy stopped and examined his sworn foe. Robin was dirty and bound, his hair tousled, and all the color seemed to have gone from his pale face. Hood looked so utterly miserable that one wouldn’t recognize him as the great leader of the merry men. That gladdened Guy’s heart immensely.

 _Hood is a dirty outlaw stripped of his glory and condemned to death,_ Guy thought _._ He admitted that Robin had probably never experienced such a great humiliation.

Guy paced near the edge of the snake pit, Robin’s Saracen bow clasped in his hand, his eyes glued to the outlaw. His anxious heart beating faster against his ribcage, he began the interrogation. “Tell me, Hood, who is the Nightwatchman?”

Robin turned his head, and his eyes again met Guy’s. As he saw a flash of hatred in Guy’s arctic blue glare, Robin shuddered not from the pain of hanging by his wrists, but from the throes of hatred for his leather-clad archenemy. Implacable hatred that was forever intertwined with the old tragedy.

 _This man almost killed me in the Saracen attack; he attempted to murder me many times since my return. He wants me dead_ , Robin mused. An insatiable desire to retaliate overwhelmed him. He knew the best way to ruffle Guy’s feathers was to appear unconcerned about his troubles and mock his enemy. Robin took advantage of his intelligence as his keen mind helped him devise a speech quickly.

Robin chuckled and delivered his witty and audacious speech. “I don’t know, Gisborne! But I do know I’ll kiss him when I see him for stealing from you!” He trailed off, trying to catch his breath; the pain in his limbs and neck persisted, but he was stoical in tolerating it. He watched Guy lower his bow, look down for a moment, and then glance away. Fresh anger stirred in the pit of his stomach; his desire to cause Guy pain heightened. Robin continued, “And for showing it’s not just me. You see, there are people like me and the Nightwatchman all over England who will stand up for justice.”

________________________________________

As Robin lapsed into silence, Guy was momentarily seized with berserk rage that was more powerful than any hard-hitting blow. Robin had accomplished what he craved: he again showed Guy that he was a better man who would always be worshiped as a hero and would always have followers and admirers. The pain of Guy’s wretchedness peaked, and darkness was piling itself upon him.

When a triumphant Robin hurled insults at him, Guy would look at his foe with loathing as he couldn’t deflect Robin’s snarky barbs and jarring comments. Sometimes he would even stare at the outlaw with that feeling of familiarity and awe with which he had watched Robin misbehaving in childhood. Although sharp wit was not Guy’s forte, he finally had the advantage in his war with Robin.

That rage became so enormous that it wasn’t bounded even by an endless blue canvas. A few moments ago, Guy had savored Robin’s misery. Now his erstwhile satisfaction perished in a bottomless sea of inextinguishable hatred which was deepened by his realization that this cornered Robin Hood would never surrender to his captors and enemies, especially not to Guy.

Robin was still _the rising, glorious sun_ and a great hero to the king and the peasants. Guy would forever be _the waning moon_ : a traitor to England and an outcast. And Guy hated that it was so.

White-hot wrath consumed Guy and boiled in his blood. It was ferocious, almost sanguinary, and it was more dangerous and appalling than the fury of a wild beast. The unleashed savagery enslaved Guy’s mind and body that was just shimmering with wickedness and cruelty.

An incensed Guy raised the bow in the air. He suddenly walloped Robin in the stomach with the weapon. _Take that, Hood! That is for my sufferings in abject poverty in France! I had to sell Isabella to Squire Thornton in order to survive and get some money for my training as a knight! If I hadn’t been banished, these troubles would have never befallen me._ His mind was on fire with his ire.  

Guy hit Robin so hard that the outlaw moaned quietly; his face distorting in pain. He would have doubled over if he weren’t dangling over the pit of snakes. Judging by his tormentor’s unrelentingly severe face, Robin suspected that his beating was just beginning. But the hero wouldn’t give Gisborne the satisfaction of seeing him in agony – he swore he would never do that. Schooling his face into neutrality, Robin gathered his strength and courage to meet the next blow.

Glaring at Robin diabolically, Guy snarled, “Look at yourself. A noble life, and you threw it away.” He paused for a moment. “For what?” Anger was building in him again.

Guy hit his archenemy with the bow again. _This is for stopping me from killing the king in the Saracen attack and for all the humiliation from Vaisey which I had to swallow after my return from Acre. I would kill you now, if Lady Davina wasn’t planning an exotic death for you._

The hero of the peasants felt his heart tighten in his chest as a tide of pain ripped through him. His hatred for Guy crystallized into a firmer determination to make his countenance stoical. _I know that my bravery and fortitude will enrage you more, Gisborne. So hit me again, for it is such a small thing for you to lash out at the helpless, the weak, and the vulnerable,_ Robin speculated _._

“So you could be king of the paupers?” snapped Guy disdainfully.

The rage boiling in Gisborne was expressed in a new strike against Robin’s stomach. _This is for all the times when you outsmarted me, and Vaisey accused me of incompetence and imbecility! You always win, damn you, Hood! You are a hero for everyone, while I’m always a villain! It is so unfair!_ A flush of fresh anger came over Guy, but unexpectedly, he discovered that he felt no relief or satisfaction from beating Robin Hood.

But, relieved or not, Guy was still furious. His anger at Robin soared to an entirely new height and penetrated every pore of his body. This time, it was anger mingled with jealousy because Robin had everything that Guy coveted but couldn’t possess. Every peasant loved Robin and hated Guy! Robin charmed people while they abhorred Guy! Nobody cared for him! Marian chose Robin over Guy too!

Squint-eyed with envy, Guy had to release his anger by hitting Robin again.

When Guy slammed the bow into his chest, Robin found himself unable to breathe for a moment. That blow sent waves of pain bouncing throughout his body, overwhelming him and temporarily preventing him from thinking. Howls and shrieks of pain sounded in the emptiness of his dazed mind, and he faintly realized that these sounds were not a figment of imagination – they were his.

When the pain receded a bit, and he regained his ability to think, an agonized Robin took heart in thoughts about his beloved Marian. His immense love for his childhood sweetheart seared into his soul a sort of wondrous stamina with which he was bearing the torment. _Marian, I promise you that I won’t die, and we will be together. I will think of something, and I will find a way out. I will return to you alive, my love._ His love for Marian was his spiritual haven from Guy’s cruelty. 

“Did you think they’d love you?” asked Guy in a spleenful voice.

Love… All the peasants in England had a great love for Robin Hood, their celebrated and heroic savior; bards composed ballads and sang songs about his noble deeds. In contrast, the peasants found Guy repugnant, and the faux Lord of Locksley punished them with a brutality that had become almost a sort of routine over time. Guy wanted to be loved as well, but he couldn’t imagine wanting the love of anyone besides Marian, who had abandoned him to his personal hell. Marian loathed him: in her eyes, he was an iron-hearted beast who oppressed, tortured, and killed the poor and downtrodden.

As his mind centered on his most recent loss, Guy’s features darkened menacingly, and he was again possessed by a blind rage strengthened by a tart feeling of his powerlessness to improve his life. He couldn’t quit his servitude to Vaisey. He couldn’t win the war with Robin Hood. He couldn’t force others, even most nobles in the shire, to respect him and treat him in a manner befitting a man of his high station. He couldn’t make Marian love him. He was lost in a maze of unremitting misery forever.

Guy swung the bow and hit Robin hard in the chest and abdomen. His soul was mired in hurt and jealousy. _This is for taking Marian away from me! If you didn’t interfere, she would have married me, and her pure heart would have washed away my sins!_ Now Marian was at the castle, far from Robin, and maybe he still had a chance to marry her and cleanse himself of his sins with her purity.

“Did you think they’d kneel at your name?” Guy growled between gritted teeth. A black fury was enveloping him again, and he slammed the Saracen bow into Robin’s stomach three times more.

Gritting his teeth and only once permitting himself a snarl, Robin was enduring the beating in valorous silence, catching angry words spoken by his adversary now and then. He tried to think of Marian and their love, but the pain was so strong that sometimes his mind could only focus on the agony, not on the true purpose of his survival – his future reunion with the keeper of his heart. Robin also noticed that the more Guy was beating him, the less intense his hatred for the tall knight was, as if each blow was allowing Robin to see the perpetual malady of his enemy’s heart.

 _You are such a weak and miserable man, Gisborne. Even if you kill me, you will never stop hating and loathing yourself. You will never hate me more than you hate yourself._ Awaiting the end of his beating, Robin made a mental inventory of the criminal deeds and self-abhorrence in Guy’s life; it became a sort of gloomy abode where he had retired for a while until Guy’s anger eroded like sand under a wave. Robin poignantly felt that his own hatred for Guy had slackened.

Robin was taken out of his reverie by Guy’s harsh voice. “Trust me, you’re not dead yet, and they’ve forgotten you already.” Gisborne hit him again, and Robin retired into that abode once more.

Guy turned to the door as he heard an unexpected clamor in the corridor. Something was going on, and it was his responsibility to check it out. Flashing Robin a withering look, he came to the door and looked through the keyhole. His heart somersaulted in his chest as Guy saw the Nightwatchman running off. Robin Hood’s mysterious ally had come to provide a distraction!

Guy flicked his gaze to the sheriff. “The Nightwatchman,” he grouched.

A perplexed Vaisey inquired, “What?”

Guy grabbed the key from the wall, unlocked the door, and walked out. Meanwhile, a beaten Robin slipped another notch closer to the poisonous snakes; the hero was bereft to realize that now he was really in the mouth of grave peril. Vaisey and Davina remained in the war room.

In a few moments, Guy poked his head through the door. Having seen the Nightwatchman in the inner corridor, he resolved to capture the masked hero. Robin couldn’t escape, and their “rendezvous” could continue later. “The Nightwatchman! Get after him!” he shouted. Then he stormed out.

Vaisey felt his heart hammering faster in wicked delight. “A double execution. Very good.” Robin glowered at him, and the sheriff’s lips stretched into an evil grin. Casting a last odious glance at the prisoner, he stalked to the door and exited, leaving a leering Davina with Robin in the war room.

**Author's Note:**

> From Penelope Clemence and Coleen561:
> 
> We thank you for reading our canon-based one-shot, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts about it. This one-shot is a gift for the many readers who have been eagerly awaiting our original Robin Hood Trilogy. We really appreciate all the encouragement that we have received from you!
> 
> Although this one-shot is based on the BBC Robin Hood series, our upcoming Robin Hood Trilogy is an original work that will feature not only the legendary characters but also real historical figures and original characters.
> 
> We anticipate publication of the first book in 2017. Here is the blurb:
> 
> England, 1154-1193
> 
> A Kingdom under Assault.  
> Bold Conspiracies of Unthinkable Malevolence.  
> A Lone Man Taking a Stand against Tyranny and Evil.
> 
> Their lives are shrouded in mystery and controversy – Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Richard the Lionheart, and John Lackland. The first Plantagenets: a dynasty born of anarchy and nurtured by intrigue. Although they would govern England for over three centuries, no threat to their rule would be greater than the secrets hidden within the tangled family tree of their ancestor, William the Conqueror.
> 
> As shadowy forces gather to attack the Plantagenet royal family, there is only one man who can defeat the evil that threatens to destroy the future of a nation.
> 
> Bow in hand, Robin Fitzooth, the Earl of Huntingdon, confronts the growing darkness and becomes Robin Hood. He will face deception, betrayal, and the ravages of war as he fights to defend his king, his country, his people, and the woman he loves from a conspiracy so diabolical, so unexpected, that the course of history hangs in the balance.
> 
> A battle between good and evil, justice and tyranny, the future and the past.


End file.
